The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-28

WAS 1T REALLY RAPEP
Strange Stories Heard About Purs-
ley's Alleged Victim.


From the Jacksonville (FTa) Times Union.
Just prior to the fall term of the Circuit
Court in 1886 James Pursley a negro dray-
man, was arrested and incarcerated in Jail
upon the charge of committing rape upon a
young white girl named Minnie White. The
crime was said to have been committed in a
house at the corner of Newman and Ashley
streets. Pursley was indicted by the grand
jury, was tried at the fall term Of the Cir
cult Court, found guilty and, as the crime
was capital one, the punishment was death.
After making number of efforts, his counsel
succeeded in getting him a new trial The
case was not tried at the spring term of the
court and he is still confined in the county
jail. Shortly after this the girl was married.
After few weeks of married life she and
her husband separated, the girl and her
mother leaving here suddenly, nobody
knowing Just where they had gone to.
Nothing further was heard of the girl or
her mother until a short time ago, when the
following letter was received by George Nj.
Britain, Captain of Police of Jacksonville:
'KNoXvILLE, Tenn, June 90, 1887
"Chief of Police, JdcbsonUiIte Fla:
DEAR SIR--Will you kindly inform me
what you can find out about a woman by
the name of Mrs. s. e. Grain and man by
the name of L. L. Davis. Mrs. Grain is, or
claims to be, a milliner by trade, arrived in
this CITY on June with what she claimed
to be a stock of goods, rented house, in
Sured her goods for 81 900, and at a. IN.
on June % the house was burned with no
goods in it except some old furniture and
trunks filed with rubbish of one kind and
another She claims to hail from your city
and to have bought the goods from travel
ing peddler by the name of Spencer. Have
you had such man travelling through your
10 ft1sn iGh
81, 400 to 81 800 worth at a timer
please inquire of your insurance men if
they had application from woman of this
name for insurance on goods of any kind
"E E. Davis is fine looking man about
% or 26 years of age, fair skin and very
black hair, moustache and mutton chops,
and claims to he the son of a soap manu-
facturer in Boston, and pretends to be
drumming the trade on soap. | think the
woman is from Boston originally.
IF you can give me any information in
reference to these parties please do so, and
oblige j. J. ATKINS, Chief of Police"
The Captain made inquiries in regard to
the woman He could find no trace Of the
goods which she claims to have taken from
here. No one by the name of Spencer could
be found, and he is supposed to have been
a myth. Capt. Britain found that the
woman had at one time owned house in
Springfield. This house was burned, and
Mrs White collected the insurance. The
above, in substance, was Capt Brittain's
answer to the Chief of Police of Knoxville.
Shortly after this second letter was re-
ceived a few days since, which read as fol
lows, being dated Knoxville, Tenn, July
Is, 1897 'Your letter giving information
relative to Mrs Grain, alias White, who now
languishes in Jail at this place, together
with her friend Davis, awaiting court on a
charge of house burning, at hand. /, as
sisted by Lieut. Reeder Of my department,
have worked up pretty strong case against
them, the result of a preliminary
trial which consumed oil of last
Saturday. They were bound over, and in
default of bail are in jail. Mrs Cain got
wind of the warrants tor her and Davis
arrest, and they hired carriage and bag
gage wagon, pretending they were going TO
Fountain Spring, a resort six miles north of
here. posted a man on the train, who
watched them, not believing they were
going where they said. He soon captured
them making way and brought them back
to Knoxville, Their guilt Of arson was so
plain that their bail was changed from
81 900 TO 81 800 each and they went TO Jail
minnie left here saying she was going to
Springfield, Mo, 10 get money from her
grandfather to get Mrs. Grain out. don't
believe she is related to the woman. She
has shown no interest in her behalf, but is
very active in trying TO get Davis out Of
Jail Find out who shipped the goods from
Jacksonville to her here. They came June
II. There were eleven boxes and a lot of
furniture, etc.
where did her former husband, Nathan
White, go TO from Jacksonvillef He left
there, she says june %. thank you for
the information about the trial in which
Minnie was concerned. She claims 90 have
slipped away from Knoxville because they
were trying 20 force her back 20 Jackson
vile. The day before she left her boarding
house here she told the landlady that White
turned out 30 be bad man,
that he had appetizer wife and two
children, and ho had ruined her
daughter, Minnie, and she had sued him and
recovered $l2, 900 Of him. The only wit
ness to the girls ruin was woman who had
since died, and that White had revived the
case and was here with the papers for her
8rrest, that she had settled her insurance
here and received $50, when she only got
50 30 the amount Of premium paid by her
when she got the policy. They are in bad
fix